The JSH Reporter Summer 2014 | Page 5

PRACTITIONERSBEWAREARTICLE 005 AUTHOR: David Stout EMAIL: [email protected] Arizona is a pure comparative fault state, which allows the finder of fact to apportion fault to parties and non-parties alike. As a general rule, defendants will only be responsible for their apportioned share of fault – nothing more. Plaintiffs frequently name multiple defendants in a lawsuit, and their pleadings describe the various grounds for finding fault. If a plaintiff settles with a defendant, that defendant will be dismissed from the lawsuit, but the allegations against that defendant do not disappear. Instead, the remaining defen